Can you imagine the uproar from the Republican community if a news analyst for NPR said he was nervous and worried when he saw Christians at federal buildings (because of Timothy McVeigh) (or abortion clinics for that matter)? The foaming at the mouth outrage, rending of garments and tearing of hair would be biblical (no pun intended). Considering how they went after ACORN, a group dedicated to helping and empowering the helpless and powerless, we can expect the same with NPR. Why? Because they fired a news analyst for saying that seeing Muslims at airports made him nervous and worried.

First of all, ignore the racism of the remarks and focus on the stupidity. Does anyone really think terrorists committed to hijacking a plane are going to show up at the airport in robes and turbans? The hijackers of 9/11 did not. The "shoe bomber" did not. The "underwear bomber" did not.

Secondly - the remark IS racist, which is disappointing coming from someone with his background and stature. He wasn't talking about white or black Muslims in "western" dress. He was talking about Arabs in traditional Arab garb.

It should come as no surprise then, that Juan Williams was hired by none other than FAUX News less than 24 hours after he was let go by NPR. It should also be no surprise that conservative pundits are attacking NPR with the same furor with which they went after ACORN:

I have a conservative friend who is also posting this YouTube clip:



For perspective on that clip, Jesse Helms was against any AIDS research, saying the disease resulted from 'unnatural' and 'disgusting' homosexual behavior, and that "There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy". In this way, Jesse Helms was willing to condemn 10% of the American population to death. Nina Totenberg's comment (unlike Juan Williams) was referencing one single person, not an entire ethnic population and/or religion. She also was not a news analyst. From the original link:

One can assume in advance that that sort of subtlety will be lost on the right-wingers.

Finally - amid all the calls for the government to "de-fund" NPR, the reality is that - unlike ACORN - it would make very little difference; they only get about 2 to 3% of their budget from Federal sources:



It would be the small local stations that lose if it is defunded, since they get about 10% of their operating budgets from federal grants. Is this one news commentator really that important that parents are willing to give up Sesame Street for their kids?